Hotel safety tips from a former intelligence officer

Post by DonHopkins » Wed, Sep 21, 2022, 7:43 PM UTC

ryandrake wrote: post #198

toss1 wrote: post #193

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>>The probabilities of bad things happening are vastly different for an undercover operator than for ordinary people Perhaps, but the article is focused on potential disasters irrelevant to operatives and just that randomly occur to any traveler - fire/natural disaster, theft, ordinary random mugging, terrorist activity often focused on hotels used by foreigners, etc. I saw nothing that was not generally applicable.…

I can't believe all the grief this story is getting on HN. I read the article and they seemed to be sensible, inexpensive, easy steps you can take to increase your safety while traveling. Why so much objection? Someone else mentioned cost/benefit. The only suggestion that had any cost was the doorstops. People are talking about probabilities. Even if the probability of something bad happening is close to zero, it sti…

Post by SgtBastard » Wed, Sep 21, 2022, 9:05 PM UTC

warinukraine wrote: post #177

t_mann wrote: post #171

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> What's the downside and carrying a doorstop with you and using it from the inside? I would love to hear. You're not only making it harder for bad guys to enter your room, but also for good guys, and for yourself to exit, in case any emergencies happen within your room. It's not even clear that the benefits of blocking are net positive in all situations (depending on your individual characteristics and the environme…

No effort for me, so yes, worth the effort.

Post by warinukraine » Wed, Sep 21, 2022, 9:54 PM UTC

SgtBastard wrote: post #203

warinukraine wrote: post #177

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No effort for me, so yes, worth the effort.

Saying that carrying a sufficiently bulky and/or heavy item to act as a door stop when travelling (including internationally, multiple locations per trip), removing it every time you leave your room and replacing it every time you return is “no effort” seems disingenuous.

Post by SpelingBeeChamp » Wed, Sep 21, 2022, 10:03 PM UTC

Larrikin wrote: post #157

ghaff wrote: post #126

This isn't hotel-specific but my tip is the following: Assume your smartphone gets lost/broken/stolen or your wallet gets lost/stolen (or a credit card gets flagged for fraud). Do you know where you're actually staying? Do you have a copy of your itinerary more generally? Do you have backup credit cards and IDs? I'm not super-fanatical about having printed maps etc. in a familiar city but I try to have backup of ever…

Hannibal Burgess, the comedian that helped bring attention to the Cosby rapes, has a bit in one of his shows about losing his license while touring domestically. He would have to get to the airport early and would show TSA videos of him performing on YouTube. It was a huge hassle but he was always allowed to get on the plane.

Post by giardini » Wed, Sep 21, 2022, 10:24 PM UTC

seanw444 wrote: post #178

dctoedt wrote: post #163

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I used to carry an emergency high-value banknote in my back pocket so that in case the worst happened I would at least have some money on me. A friend does that; she refers to it as her "Don't Kill Me" money.

My "don't kill me" money shoots 9mm.